Community Calendar

The Cortez Journal encourages people to submit announcements about upcoming events for the Community Calendar. Send announcements to news@cortezjournal.com. Items submitted at least two weeks in advance will be less likely to be published.

Free FireWise presentation

The Four Corners Builders Association invites the public to a free program by Rebecca Samulski of Firewise of Southwest Colorado on Tuesday, April 23, beginning at 7 p.m.

Samulski will provide insight on creating an environment to protect a home from showering embers during wildfires. The program will be an introduction to proper sight design, construction, landscaping and maintenance for homes in wildfire-prone areas.

The event will be held at the First National Bank meeting room, 2258 E. Main, Cortez.

For more information, call (970) 565-1771.

Business Builder Forum

The Cortez Referral Source invites interested business owners and managers to the 2013 Business Builder Forum, “Grow Your Business in Any Economy” on April 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Baymont Inn & Suites Breakfast Room.

Enjoy lunch and gain key insights from speakers who will cover topics including, “Where We Are in the Economic Cycle,” “Hands on Referral Strategies & Techniques” and “Who, What and How to use the Resources of Region 9.” Lunch will be $5. For more information, Gayel Alexander at Cortez Retail Enhancement Association, (970) 564-4095.

Search engine optimization class

Geeks on Grand is offering a new three-session class on search engine optimization (SEO) at the Cortez Chamber of Commerce. The April 25 class will focus on basic SEO for websites; on May 30, a session will focus on content marketing and blogging, and the June 27 class will be on managing one’s online presence and “brand.”

Participants can sign up for all three for $115 ($90 for Chamber members), or attend individual classes for $45 each.

To register, call 533-9926.

Benefit for Dolores River Festival

The Great Outdoors Silent Auction and Mountainfilm on Tour event returns to the Dolores Community Center on Friday, April 26. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and films start at 6:30. Admission is $10; kids aged 15 and under are free. Dinner from the Absolute Bakery and Café, beer from the Dolores River Brewery, other beverages and snacks will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the sales of auction items, refreshments, and admission to the films support the Dolores River Festival, scheduled for June 1. To learn more about the event, including how to volunteer or donate items for the auction, call (970) 799-1475 or email fundraiser@doloresriverfestival.com.

Breast cancer awareness fundraiser

Rock Slide will team up with Blondie’s Trophy Room at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 26, to raise funds for breast cancer awareness. There will be an electric guitar giveaway, t-shirts and drink specials.

Humane Society yard sale

For Pets’ Sake Humane Society will continue its yard sale this weekend, April 26-27, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days at the Cortez Christian Church Family Life Center on the corner of Empire and Highway 145 in Cortez.

Ragtime Saturday at MVPC

Presbyterian Women and the FLOC Committee (Fun Loving Outgoing Christians) from Montezuma Valley Presbyterian Church are cosponsoring a “Ragtime Saturday” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in the fellowship hall of MVPC, 350 S. Washington. A lunch of hot dogs and chips will be available for a donation of $1.50, and dessert is an additional $1.50. There will be free popcorn and lemonade for everyone.

Joy Steffen will be at the piano providing ragtime music. This will be a fun event for the whole family.

For more information, call the church office at 565-7024.

Affordable Care Act

The League of Women Voters of Montezuma County will host Bob Sermo, policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center in Denver, on Saturday, April 27, at 9 a.m., at the Ponderosa Restaurant, 108 S. Eighth St. in Dolores. Sermo will provide an overview of the Affordable Care Act.

In honor of the “Month of the Young Child,” the Children’s Kiva invites children of all ages and their families to join in the 11th Annual Kidfest. Kidfest is a celebration of childhood for children, their families, and the whole community. This year’s Kidfest will take place on Saturday, April 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Cortez City Park on East Main Street (between Mildred Road and Park Street). Kidfest will feature live entertainment, arts and crafts activities, face painting, relay races, food vendors, and more fun for the whole family. Admission is free and open to everyone. Donations are appreciated.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration will set up a collection point where consumers can turn in their unused or expired medications, on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Walgreens parking lot, at the corner of Main and Sligo in Cortez.

Prescription and over-the-counter medications will be accepted for disposal. Some items will not be accepted, including needles and sharps, mercury (thermometers), oxygen containers, chemotherapy drugs and radioactive substances, pressurized canisters, and illicit drugs.

Community members are invited to join Susan Matthews for a free chronic pain clinic introducing to how to use tai chi and qigong to find relief from pain including arthritis, fibromyalgia, low back pain, neck and shoulder pain. Participants will learn relaxation techniques and whole-body biomechanics that improve posture.

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 27 at the Millennium Center, 20 W Main Street, downtown Cortez.

FireWise of Southwest Colorado, the Southwest Colorado Bar Association, and Colorado State Forest Service are seeking volunteers to plant almost 1500 seedling shrubs and trees on eight private properties affected by the Weber Fire last summer.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, FireWise will need around 100 volunteers to celebrate Earth Day restoring parts of the Weber Fire burn area. This will be a fun day, sun or shine, to get dirty and give something back to a mountain and community that lost its forest.

Montezuma County Treasurer Sherry Dyess reminds property owners that April 30, 2013, is the deadline to pay the 2012 property taxes for those who are paying in full. The new mailing address of the Treasurer’s Office is 140 W. Main St., Suite 2, Cortez, CO 81321. Postmarks through April 30 will be accepted.

For more information, call (970) 565-7550.

CMS art show at Cortez Library

Cortez Middle School students will be displaying their artwork in the children’s area in the Cortez Public Library from May 1 to May 16.

Teacher Amelia Joe-Chandler will be hosting a reception at the library

on May 16 from 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. The library is located at 202 N. Park St., Cortez, CO. Ms. Joe-Chandler may be reached at (970) 565-7876 for more details.

Blood drive

United Blood Services will hold a blood drive from noon to 5:15 p.m. May 1 at the First Methodist Church, 515 N. Park, Cortez.

‘Are Rights God Given?’

“Are Rights God Given?” will be the topic on May 2 at 6:30 for the next “How You Can Be Part of a Christian Community with Integrity and Not Believe All Those Things You Thought You Had to Believe” conversation. St. Barnabas Church (corner of North and Elm) hosts these gatherings for folks who struggle to reconcile their life experience with what they believe the church requires, who don’t want to check their minds at a church door, or who just don’t want to live in a world they think the Christian church espouses but who might value being part of a community of faith. Questions are required. No answers are promised. Call 565-7865 for information.

Changes at Southwest Memorial

The League of Women Voters of Montezuma County will host a program by Kent Helwig, CEO of Southwest Memorial Hospital, on Saturday, May 4, at 9 a.m., at the Ponderosa Restaurant, 108 S. Eighth St. in Dolores. Helwig will discuss the many services offered by the hospital and its clinics, quality improvement initiatives and improvements in access to care as a result of significant efforts to recruit physicians to the community.

Southwest Memorial Hospital will be hosting a certified babysitting class on May 4 at the Hospital Annex community room.

The cost is $25, and successful participants will earn a certificate of completion.

The course is designed for “tweens” and teens who wish to become babysitters, as well as for children who may be left at home without a parent. Topics covered include how to stay safe, feeding and playtime, as well as how to start and safely advertise a babysitting business. Students will learn how to change diapers, what are age-appropriate toys and games, and will receive a basic first aid overview. Choking and what to do in an emergency is also covered.

The class will be a fundraiser for the hospital’s relay for life team. To register or for more information, call Robyn Bragg at 564-2243.

Free intro to Tai Chi

On May 4, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the new Millennium Center in downtown Cortez, Susan Matthews will lead a free introduction to tai chi exercise with visualizations, mental practices, and movement biomechanics that exercise the brain and create whole-body mind and movement coordination. People of all ages can use this information to calm the nervous system, improve balance and coordination, posture, cardiovascular health and weight. Persons with brain injury and mobility disorders can rehabilitate and relieve pain.

The Dolores River Anglers Chapter of Trout Unlimited invites all members and friends to attend the annual Spring Fling Casting Clinic and Cookout at Denny Lake Park Monday, May 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. Participants are encouraged to bring their own fly rods, but a limited number of rods will be available. For information or to reserve a rod call Brad Waltman at (970) 759-0175 or Dale Smith at (970) 759-3020.

All members and friends are invited to attend the May DRA Board of Directors meeting at 5 p.m. that day, also that day at Denny Lake.

On Thursday, May 9, at 1 p.m., the library will be holding a computer class on Google Maps and Google Earth. The same class will be held at the Unlimited Learning Center at 10:30 a.m. on the same day.

Friday, May 10, at 1 p.m., staff from the Southwest Colorado Workforce Center will be teaching a computer class on finding a job. The class will be focus on various aspects of finding a job on the Internet and using the Workforce Center. This class will only be given at the library.

On Thursday, May 23, at 1 p.m., the Cortez Public Library will present a class on “Word.” The same class will be held at the Unlimited Learning Center at 10:30 a.m. on the same day.

All classes at the library require advance registration, as space is limited. Sign up by calling the library at 565-8117 or by stopping by. To find out more about the classes at the Unlimited Learning Center, call 565-1601.

Free programs on estate planning

Erin Johnson will present two free programs on estate planning at the Cortez Welcome Center on Tuesday, May 14.

The first session will cover common errors in estate planning efforts and will be presented at 1:30 p.m. and again at 6 p.m.

The second session will introduce succession planning tools for businesses, farms and ranches. This session will be presented at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

United Blood Services will hold a blood drive from 3 to 6:30 p.m. May 16 at the Cortez Middle School cafeteria, 450 W. Second, Cortez

FireWise Home Ignition Zone workshop

FireWise of Southwest Colorado is offering a Home Ignition Zone Workshops as part of Wildfire Prevention and Education Month in May. During the 12-hour workshop, attendees will learn risk factors around their home that could cause it to burn, how to conduct an assessment, review case studies of homes that have burned due to flying embers, and more. This is an ideal course for anyone interested in providing important wildfire risk information to residents. Attendees will get to practice the information they learned by conducting on-site assessments on Saturday.

The workshop will be held May 17-18 at the Mancos Public Library, from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Registration is required, as space is limited. There is a $10 fee; dinner Friday night and lunch on Saturday will be provided. RSVP to Becca Samulski at 564-4007 or montezumafirewise@gmail.com.

Dairy Goat Information Day

The Four Corners Dairy Goat Breeders will hold a dairy goat information day on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 23161 Rd. G.2 in Cortez.

Ask questions about raising dairy goats. See animals and get advice and demonstrations on care and maintenance. Multiple breeds will be represented. Some will be available for sale. Some equipment may be available for sale.

For more information call Jeanette at 565-9065 and leave a message.

Blood drive

United Blood Services will hold a blood drive in its Bloodmobile at the Fiesta Twin Theater, 23 W. Main, Cortez, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on May 18.

Lakeview Harmony Club Centennial

The Lakeview Harmony Club, established in May 1913, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sunday, May 19, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Lewis Grange Hall, East of Highway 145 on Road M. The event will include music, refreshments and door prizes.

The Lakeview Harmony Club, organized by pioneer women, is a community fellowship and service group. Family and friends of past members are invited to attend.